It looked like he was asleep, and her heart broke further at the thought of waking him. But there was no other way — none of the choices were good. She had to choose what she thought would be best for herself.
Secretly, she didn’t believe there was a best choice for her. But she thought the most people would be made happy by her choice.
Giving in, she rested her hand on his curly hair, stroking her fingers through it as her mouth trembled.
As soon as he heard the crunch of her light footsteps move across the floor he was awake, but he didn’t move and waited until her fingers were in his hair before shifting and cracking his eyes open.
“Summer…” He breathed out and leaned into her hand, lifting his head to greet her with wide and sad eyes, his hands gently pulling her closer as his fingers curled around her hips.
She let herself be pulled closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning her head on his. “Oh, Isaac … ” Her voice broke on a sob, and she hid her face in his hair. “I have to go,” she whispered. “For at least a little while. I need to know my family. But I’ll come back, I swear.”